On the 9th of October the Division marched out of the rest area to take over the left sector of the 4th Corps front, held by the New Zealand Division. After the breaking of the Hindenburg Line the pursuit had been carried on by the Third Army with such vigour that the enemy had been unable to make any prolonged stand, and the front was now at least a dozen miles east of the Couillet Valley. Throughout these operations the Divisional Artillery had assisted the New Zealanders. Evidence of the haste with which the enemy had retired was furnished on the second day’s march, when the battalions passed through Lesdain, as most of the houses here had been left standing, though interiors had been looted. While the unending column of troops and transport moved eastward across the ridges and valleys of the Somme country, past battered villages and farmsteads, a stream of old men, women and children poured to the west. These were the liberated civilians, freed at last from the Prussian yoke. Though many of them seemed too stunned by ill-treatment and the loss of all they had possessed to understand or feel interest in what was passing around them, the greater number greeted the British soldiers enthusiastically, and urged them to drive the sales Boches out of their beloved France, whose soil had been defiled. Ruined and bereft though they were, French pride and passionate love of their country still burned brightly, and the chief emotion was joy that the cochons prussiens were being hustled ignominiously out of France. The second night was passed in Pélu Wood and Château Briseux, with D.H.Q. at Esnes. Away to the north Cambrai was burning so fiercely that the spire of one of its churches stood out black against the background of flame. A semicircle of fires in the further distance told of the destruction of villages and homesteads, and the Lancashire men understood something of the loathing and hatred that animated the homeless French and perhaps saved them from the deadening effect of utter despair. The third day’s march brought the Division to Fontaine-au-Pir and Beauvois, where a halt was made while arrangements were completed for the relief of the New Zealanders around Briastre, on the western bank of the River Selle.

The River Selle winds through and about Solesmes, Briastre, Neuvilly, Le Cateau and other villages east and south-east of Cambrai, and here the Germans made one of the last desperate attempts to check the British advance. The line of the Selle was strategically one of the most important positions along the whole front, the key position to Maubeuge, Mons, and above all Valenciennes, the centre of the enemy’s main lines of communications for all the northern area. The German troops were ordered to fight to the death in the very strong defences prepared east of the Selle, and their best troops were put into the line here, including the 25th German Division, which claimed that it had fought through the war with an unbroken record of victory. This famous, hard-fighting division had been held in reserve that it might be thrust in at the vital moment, fresh, fit and confident, to turn the scale, and it was now brought into line against the 42nd Division. To increase their confidence the German Higher Command issued the following statement: “All past experiences, all prisoners’ statements, prove that the British infantry does not push on as it meets with resolute resistance. Only by offering a tough defence shall we achieve an honourable peace.” General Solly-Flood issued this statement to his troops with the comment: “The Division, as it has always done, will overcome the toughest defence the already shaken Hun can offer, and teach him once more what the Divisional Motto means.”

The New Zealanders had already secured a precarious footing at one or two points on the eastern bank of the Selle, opposite Briastre, and on the night of October 12-13 their front was taken over by the 125th Brigade, two companies of the 8th L.F. crossing the river. The enemy made violent attempts to dislodge them, and, by driving them back across the Selle, prevent or delay the bridging of the river. The first attempts were on the night of the relief, but these were repulsed without much trouble. On the afternoon of the 13th the enemy made much more desperate counter-attacks. At 4.15 p.m., after a heavy bombardment, their infantry and machine-gunners counter-attacked in force. Though the troops of the division on the right were forced to withdraw their forward posts, the two companies of the 8th L.F. stood firm, and inflicted very heavy losses, a Lewis-gun section contributing largely to this. Fresh counter-attacks, no less violent, were made, and enfilading machine-gun fire compelled the posts on the extreme right to withdraw a short distance and take up a defensive flank, which checked the enemy. At night-fall patrols again worked forward and established posts close to the original line. In the course of the next few days the brigade succeeded in establishing posts across the river along the whole divisional front, between Briastre and the railway triangle just south of Solesmes.

The enemy now disclosed a greater artillery strength than he had shown during recent weeks, and on the 13th and 14th Briastre was heavily shelled and gassed. Captain H. Neame, R.A.M.C., accompanied by a French officer, Lieutenant Pinto, and some N.C.O.s and men of the 2nd and 3rd Field Ambulances, twice entered the village during the worst of the shelling, and helped to evacuate more than 150 civilians. Among these were at least thirty infirm persons and children, who had to be sought out, and then carried into safety. On the 15th Lance-Corporal W. Armstrong, 5th L.F., being ordered to reconnoitre a suspected machine-gun post in a house on the Solesmes—Belle Vue road, led his section so skilfully that they not only found the post, with a loaded gun in position, but also seized an opportunity to enter quietly and abstract the gun before the garrison realized what was taking place. They were then fired upon, but the withdrawal was managed with equal skill, and the gun carried off without a casualty to the section.

As the banks of the Selle drop rather sharply to the water it is not an easy stream to bridge or cross, especially as the enemy held the higher ground, with direct observation, not more than 400 yards away, and in some places their machine-gun posts were only 100 and 150 yards from the river. On the nights of the 17th and 18th the Divisional Engineers erected four footbridges with handrails, and prepared material for others, and also for two pontoon bridges to take wheeled traffic and field-guns. About the centre of the sector was a weir; north of this the width of the stream was from 15 to 20 feet, and here the bridges were made of German telegraph posts, 30 feet in length, with boards nailed across. South of the weir the width was greater, and the bridges were made of trestles and duckboards. On the night of the 19th—the assembly for attack taking place at midnight—four more footbridges and the pontoon bridges were erected. The pontoon wagons were brought down soon after dusk, their wheels padded with canvas filled with straw to deaden the noise. There was a great deal of rain, the river north of the weir rose nearly four feet, overflowed its banks, and inundated the surrounding country, so that the bridges already constructed had to be raised and extended. By the gallantry and good work of the Engineers all was completed in time, in spite of violent machine-gun fire and shelling with H.E. and gas. Respirators were worn for several hours, but there were only six casualties among the sappers. The route to each bridge was taped out to guide the assembling troops and ensure speed in getting into the “kicking-off” positions east of the Selle; and a lantern was placed at the head of each bridge, which was numbered. Thanks to the efficiency and thoroughness of the sappers, the infantry were able to cross the river and deploy for the attack without confusion or delay.[23]

The bridging being completed, the advance of the Third Army was resumed on October 20, with zero hour at 2 a.m. The direction of the Division’s advance, which from the opening of the Third Army’s offensive had been practically due east, was now turned to the north-east, towards Maubeuge and Mons. The attack was planned in three phases.

First Phase.—The 126th Brigade, which had relieved the 125th in the front line, would advance, with the 5th East Lancashires on the right and the 10th Manchesters on the left, and a company of the 8th Manchesters in support of each battalion, at zero plus three minutes, under a barrage lifting at the rate of 100 yards every three minutes. The first objective, termed the Blue Line, was the railway cutting running southwards from Solesmes—a very strong defensive system, with deep dug-outs in the cutting; the second objective, termed the Green Line, was the high ground beyond a sunken road which ran roughly parallel to the railway, about 1500 yards north-east of the “kicking-off” positions. Between the Blue and Green Lines the barrage would lift at the rate of 100 yards every five minutes. Handshakes would be established with the 5th Division on the right and the 62nd on the left on the divisional boundary lines at each objective.

Each battalion would advance in four waves, as follows: On the right the first wave (“B” Company, 5th E. Lancs.) to go forward with six sections in arrow-head formation to the railway cutting, while one platoon would seize Belle Vue Farm, near the cross-roads a few hundred yards west of the railway, mop up the cross-roads, and then work from left to right and form a defensive flank on the spur just beyond the railway; the second wave (“C” and “D” Companies), advancing in extended order, to carry on the advance to the Green Line, through the ravine that stretched diagonally between the two objectives; the third wave (“D” Company) to advance in line of sections in single file, and, after mopping up the ravine, to extend either flank of the leading companies and provide fighting patrols to clear the flanks and find touch with the 10th Manchesters and the 5th Division; the fourth wave (“D” Company, 8th Manchesters) to form a defensive flank between the spur and the right of the Green Line. On the left, the first wave of the 10th Manchesters (“C” Company on the right, “A” Company on the left) to carry both objectives; the second wave (“B” Company) to reinforce the first, and mop up and occupy the cutting; the third wave (“D” Company) to leapfrog over the second and clear the ravine; the fourth wave (“B” Company, 8th Manchesters) to assist in mopping up and to support the others as required.

Second Phase.—The 127th Brigade to pass through the 126th and advance from the Green Line at 7 a.m., under a barrage at the rate of 100 yards in five minutes, to the Red Line (of which the hamlet of Marou formed the centre), about 1200 to 1500 yards further to the north-east. After a pause of fifteen to thirty minutes, to continue the advance to the Brown Line, which would secure the important tactical point of the sunken cross-roads on the top of the hill between Marou and Romeries, at the rate of 100 yards in four minutes, making the total advance for the morning about 4000 yards on the left, and rather more than 3000 on the right. Handshakes to be established with the flanking divisions where the lines cross the divisional boundaries.

Third Phase.—The advance beyond the Brown Line to be carried on by the 125th Brigade, objectives and date depending upon the general situation on the front of the Corps.

Two companies of the M.G. Battalion were allotted to the 126th Brigade and one to the 127th. The reserve company, with a company of the New Zealand M.G. Battalion, would cover the advance from high ground west of the Selle. The importance attached by the Commander-in-Chief to the offensive east of Cambrai was shown by the vast array of artillery concentrated there. As the artillery was let loose upon the enemy positions the thunder of the heavy guns seemed to shake the ground, and it was amazing that ammunition could be brought up in sufficient supplies to feed the voracious monsters. The night of October 19-20 was very dark, and to assist the infantry to keep direction, the artillery fired bright “incendiary” shells to mark the flanks and also the centre of their barrage, and these proved useful guides. The attacking battalions had already rehearsed the assault on preceding days, and each moved off through Briastre in the darkness, mist and rain, crossed the Selle, and arrived at its “kicking-off” position between midnight and 1 a.m., the 5th East Lancashires without loss. The left flank, however, was heavily shelled, and the 10th Manchesters suffered rather severely. It was raining hard, but many men were so tired that they fell asleep as they lay in a beet-field awaiting the signal.

At 2 a.m. (October 20) the barrage came down 300 yards in front, and the first waves went over as one man. The bandsmen of the 5th East Lancashires, who were on duty as extra stretcher-bearers, had brought up their instruments, and played the Regimental March under teeming rain and heavy fire. Enemy machine-guns opened at once and caused about fifty casualties among the 5th East Lancashires, and a thick belt of wire had to be got through in the dark. But the sections were on the railway in good time, and with a terrific yell the Burnley men entered the steep cutting and went for the defenders with the bayonet, and in a very short time a red Very light signalled back that the railway was captured. Meanwhile the platoon detached to carry Belle Vue Farm—a formidable position, strengthened by three cunningly devised machine-gun nests—had achieved its object, though both its commander and sergeant had fallen before the objective had been reached. The barrage slowed down to the four-minute rate, and the second wave advanced in extended order and captured the ravine. They were then enfiladed by machine-guns, but this hardly checked the advance, and the Green Line was carried, the battalion having passed through six defensive belts, at all of which opposition was encountered. On reaching the final objective they were harassed for a time by machine-gun fire from the left, and in the blackness of the night a number of the men lost direction and wandered into the 10th Manchester’s territory. Touch was soon established, however, with this battalion, and, later, with the 5th Division; and the ground was thoroughly mopped up. The battalion had suffered more than a hundred casualties, but had captured 300 prisoners, of better physique and appearance than any previously taken.

The 10th Manchesters had met with equal success on the left. Encountering wire west of the railway, Lance-Corporal Revell rushed forward, and though the wire was still under our own barrage, he cut a gap through which the section passed. A little later, Revell charged a machine-gun post and bayoneted the crew. The railway cutting was a ravine, down the steep banks of which the Oldham men stumbled and rolled in the dark. It was strongly held and deadly machine-gun fire was brought to bear upon them, but they were quickly masters of the situation, and at the scheduled time a green flare signalled that the 10th Manchesters held the railway line. The Green Line was also captured to time. There was much bitter hand-to-hand fighting in the dark, and numerous instances of the rushing and capture of machine-gun posts. So well was the direction kept that the right company found itself exactly on the spot on the Green Line at which it had aimed. The leading companies were now enfiladed by two machine-guns in the sunken road, so Captain J. A. C. Taylor, D.S.O., M.C., took two men forward with a Lewis gun, which, however, he was unable to fire, owing to the mud. He brought up a German machine-gun, but this also jammed. He next went several hundred yards under continuous machine-gun fire to obtain rifle-grenades, which he fired, and then rushed forward, shot two of the enemy with his revolver, and made the rest run. This prompt and courageous action—for which the bar to the M.C. was awarded—cleared up the situation on the Green Line, and ensured a capital starting-point for the 6th Manchesters.

During the early hours of the morning of October 20th, both in the darkness and at dawn, there were numerous instances of daring, resource, and initiative, every one of which is well worth recording if space permitted. A few may be picked out at random, as typical of many others performed by officers and men of all battalions engaged that day. On the left Sergeant S. R. Lees, in command of a platoon of the 10th Manchesters engaged in clearing the railway cutting, worked round to the rear of a crater strongly held by machine-guns, which they attacked and captured. He then pushed on to Solesmes, outside the divisional boundary, mopping up the whole railway triangle, accounting for a number of the enemy on the way and taking their machine-guns, and got into touch with the 62nd Division. This platoon cleared more than 1000 yards of the railway. Corporal W. Martin, with two men of the 10th Manchesters, came upon a body of nearly fifty of the enemy. The three opened fire and shot several Germans, then charged with the bayonet, killed and wounded others, and put the remainder to flight. Sergeant T. O’Connel, leading his men with great dash, rushed and captured five machine-guns in succession. Captain J. C. S. Rowbotham rushed two machine-gun posts, shooting the crews, taking the guns, and accounting for twenty-four of the enemy. Private J. H. Chapman, No. 1 of a Lewis-gun, when passing through wire was fired at by a machine-gun at close range. He brought his gun into action and killed the crew. Being wounded, he handed his gun to No. 2 and continued the advance to the final objective 1500 yards away, where he bayoneted a number of the enemy, and only had his wounds dressed when the position had been consolidated.

On the right, similar heroism was shown. Sergeant W. Fletcher and two men of the 5th East Lancashires rushed a post containing twenty Germans and two machine-guns, and killed or captured the lot. Lieutenant W. Cookson, with six men, charged a machine-gun nest containing an officer and thirty men, killed eight and took the rest prisoner. Privates Yegliss, M.M., and Chalkley were sent with a message to Battalion H.Q. On the way they encountered three separate armed parties of the enemy, overcame their resistance, and delivered the message and eight unwounded prisoners. A section of the same battalion came under very deadly machine-gun fire which caused a number of casualties. Seeing his comrades hesitate, Private A. Waterhouse called out, “I’m hit, lads, but I’m going on!” Inspired by this example, the survivors of the section promptly followed the lead and captured the post. Another private, W. Kehoe, at a time of confusion due to enfilading machine-gun fire and the obstacle of wire in front, organized a party of platoon strength, including N.C.O.s, and gave them the correct direction towards the final objective, going in advance with a Lewis-gun—though not a Lewis-gunner himself—and checking every twenty-five or thirty yards to fire a few rounds. In all this hand-to-hand fighting Stokes-gunners, machine-gunners and Lewis-gunners took their share and gained decorations. Sterling courage was shown in bringing up the ammunition across ground swept by hostile machine-guns, and also in collecting ammunition from the wounded. The stretcher-bearers were no less heroic, and their devotion saved many lives.

At 7 a.m. the 127th Brigade passed through the 126th, the 5th Manchesters on the right, the 6th on the left, and the 7th in support. At the outset the 5th Manchesters were badly knocked about by enfilading machine-gun fire from the right flank, which caught the advancing waves on the bare high ground, south of Marou and west of Maison Rouge, which had to be crossed. The deadliness of this enfilading fire was due to the fact that very strong enemy counter-attacks had forced the division on the right to withdraw temporarily, so the right flank of the Wigan men was in the air. The enemy was offering a stubborn resistance, infantry and machine-gunners fighting skilfully and well. But the 6th Manchesters on the left overcame all obstacles. At the start the leading company suffered many casualties from machine-guns, which held up the advance for a short time. Lieutenant F. C. Benton successfully organized attacks against these nests, and took fifty prisoners. The Red Line was secured, and the hamlet of Marou cleared with machine-gun, rifle and bayonet. Sergeant W. Tinsley led an attack against a strongly held position. His section had to pass through fierce machine-gun fire and shell fire, but the post was captured, and Tinsley himself killed five men with the bayonet. Private A. Brewer, when his section commander was killed, took charge of a section, and, attacking a machine-gun nest which was holding up the advance, captured twelve prisoners and the gun. The 6th, though anxious to press forward to the final objective, were ordered to remain on the Red Line until the situation on the right had improved.

The 7th Manchesters were now brought up, “D” Company forming a defensive flank on the right of the 5th. The line was advanced, but the enfilading fire was still too destructive to permit the capture of the objective until the division on the right could make good. It was during the hottest of the fighting on this flank that Private Alfred Wilkinson, 5th Manchesters, gained the Victoria Cross by the most noteworthy of many individual acts of heroism on this day. His company was held up in an exposed position by very heavy machine-gun fire from the front and right flank. All other means of communication having failed, four runners were sent out in succession with messages asking for assistance, and all four were killed before many yards had been covered. Though Wilkinson had seen the four shot down, and therefore knew how slight his chance of escape would be, he volunteered to carry the message. The distance was more than 600 yards, but somehow, though scores of bullets only missed him by inches, he got through, and assistance was sent. Throughout the remainder of the day Wilkinson continued to do splendid work. Private J. Bowers, of the same battalion, carried his wounded officer through very heavy shell fire to a place of safety. Though himself twice wounded while doing this, he refused to give in until he had got the officer under cover and had found stretcher-bearers, and undoubtedly saved the officer’s life. Great gallantry had been displayed by the 7th Manchesters, under Captain James Baker. The company had lost heavily from enemy shelling and machine-guns, both during the assembly and when attacking, but though its strength had been reduced to thirty-five when Captain Baker formed a defensive flank on the right of the 5th Manchesters, it repelled strong counter-attacks, held on for eight hours, and eventually made the position secure.

Soon after midday the enemy massed for a counter-attack, but the assembly was broken up by the artillery and outstanding work by the machine-guns. About 4 p.m. the 5th Division attacked under a heavy barrage, the 5th and 7th Manchesters, with companies of the 8th which had been brought forward, co-operating. This advance was successful and the Red Line was secured. A machine-gun nest on the right, which had been very troublesome all morning, was captured by “C” Company, 7th Manchesters. The 6th Manchesters were now able to resume their attack, which had been postponed, as the artillery had been required to switch the barrage to other objectives; and the final objective, the Brown Line—more than 1000 yards beyond Marou—was captured about 9 p.m., some hundreds of the enemy being driven from the last position, in the sunken cross-roads half-way between Marou and Vertigneul, with heavy loss. Privates H. W. Jarvis, M.M., and M. Fearn, 6th Manchester stretcher-bearers, had displayed great devotion in attending to the wounded and bringing them into safety at a time when the violence of the machine-gun fire made it almost certain death to move about. Throughout the rest of the day and in the evening these two men worked incessantly in constant peril, and saved many more lives.

The enemy artillery had been active since early morning, their fire being especially concentrated upon our guns. Battery D/211 was put out of action gun by gun, until one gun remained, with only Sergeant W. Ritchie and Gunners J. Willis and H. Watts to work it. After a time Ritchie was too badly wounded to be able to give any assistance, but the two gunners continued to fight their gun until at last it was put out of action by a direct hit. All three received the D.C.M.

The night of October 20th closed with all the Division’s objectives secured. The Prussians of the “Invincible” 25th Division had plenty to think about—both those in the divisional cage and those still at large. They had been very thoroughly beaten and very roughly handled; and when it had come to “in-fighting” they had been soundly thrashed again and again by half their numbers. They had met two of the East Lancashire brigades to their sorrow, and were soon to experience similar treatment from the third.

The newly-won positions were consolidated next day, October 21st. In the afternoon there was heavy enemy shelling with H.E. and gas; and low-flying aeroplanes were active over the front. The Germans were by no means done for; they meant to resist stubbornly any further advance, and had brought artillery from other sectors into position. During the night of the 21st-22nd the 125th Brigade relieved the 127th, and the enemy shelling continued at intervals during the day and night of the 22nd. It was unusually heavy at midnight, and the assembly of the brigade for the attack was made under most unfavourable conditions, the number of casualties among the Fusiliers being serious.

The advance of the Third Army was resumed in the early hours of the 23rd October, the Fourth and First Armies co-operating. The 42nd Division held the left of the 4th Corps front, with the 5th Division on the right, and the 3rd Division, 6th Corps, on the left. At 3.20 a.m. the Divisional and New Zealand Artillery put down a barrage which lifted at the rate of 100 yards in six minutes. The Division’s final objective was, roughly, the line of the River Harpies from the north of Beaurain on the right to Vertigneul in the centre, and to the outskirts of Romeries, north-east of Vertigneul, on the left. The advance was to be made in three bounds, and the New Zealanders would then pass through the 125th Brigade at 8.40 a.m. and continue the advance, supported by the divisional artillery and two companies of the 42nd M.G. Battalion.

At 3.26 a.m. the Fusilier Brigade, with “C” Company, M.G. Battalion, moved off, the 7th Battalion on the right, the 8th on the left, and the 5th in support. Once again the right flank had the greater difficulty, and the progress of the 7th was slow. They were enfiladed from machine-gun posts on the high ground west of Beaurain, from Beaurain itself, and, later, from the quarries north of Beaurain. These poured destructive fire upon them as they strove gallantly to go forward. A couple of tanks were sent to their assistance, and these eased the situation by destroying the nearer machine-gun nests. But the enemy, holding Beaurain very strongly, had checked the advance of the 5th Division, so the flank of the 7th L.F. was in the air, and its right company had been much weakened by heavy losses. The left company, however, made progress in the centre by the Marou—Beaurain road. There were numerous instances of devotion to duty and disregard of personal safety on the part of all ranks. Lieutenant W. J. O’Bryen gained a second bar to his M.C. by leading his men round by a flank against a machine-gun nest which had held them up at 100 yards’ range, and capturing the position; and C.S.M. Thos. Roe, M.M., dealt similarly with another nest. Corporal F. Hesford kept his men together under deadly shell fire, and though knocked down by a shell which killed the man next to him, Hesford worked his section steadily through the fire to the flanks of the machine-guns, and captured all three.

Conditions on the left were much more satisfactory. The 8th L.F. had advanced steadily, and as the 3rd Division was making corresponding progress on the left, their flank was not unduly exposed. Still, they had to fight their way step by step, held up time after time by the numerous machine-gun nests, but always overcoming the resistance, and turning the enemy out of his holes at the bayonet’s point. Soon after the start Captain D. G. Bird’s company came under fierce fire from machine-gun nests. Led by their officer, the company rushed the posts and bayoneted the entire garrison. Pushing on, Bird led his men to the final objective, north of Beaurain, and held it under very heavy fire. C.S.M. Riley, whose courage and coolness in the assembly had been conspicuous, made personal reconnaissances under heavy fire during the attack, and brought valuable information regarding the situation on the flanks. He was the first man on the final objective. Sergeant C. Carter, seeing that the troops on his right were held up, rushed the enemy post with two men, and captured the gun. He then took nine prisoners from a dug-out close to the post. Lance-Corporal W. Walmsley, though wounded in the side by a bayonet, led his section against a machine-gun nest which had been holding up the advance, and captured it, all the enemy being killed with the bayonet. Privates C. H. Perkins and F. Peace worked a Lewis-gun under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, and though Perkins was severely wounded in the knee, the two men continued to fight the gun until they had killed or captured the whole of the opposing machine-gun crew. Privates H. A. Jackson and G. H. Robson attacked a machine-gun nest with a Lewis-gun, killed four men and captured or dispersed the rest. As similar instances of pluck and confidence were being shown in all parts of the fighting area between Marou, Beaurain and Vertigneul, and the trench-mortar crews and machine-gunners fought with rifle, bayonet and revolver; and stretcher-bearers, R.A.M.C. and signallers, though not taking part in hand-to-hand combats with the bayonet, were doing their duty with equal disregard of their own safety, the final objective was reached, at first on the left, where Vertigneul was captured by the 8th L.F., and later on the right flank, where Captain Kirsopp, G.S.O. 3, of the 42nd, gave valuable assistance by a reconnaissance outside the divisional boundary, north-west of Beaurain. Here he came across a company of the Cheshires and led them to their objective, where they linked up with the 7th L.F., and the front was securely established. The 8th L.F. had captured more than 100 prisoners, two field-guns, thirty-four machine-guns, and some trench-mortars. The 7th and 5th had also made good captures.

This attack of the 125th Brigade was as brilliant an exploit as any during the war. The difficulty of assembly in the dark had been augmented by the complicated tactics required by the need to align the barrage to suit divisions on the flanks. An outward wheel on one flank of the Brigade and an inward wheel on the other flank had to be made in pitch darkness, and while in actual conflict with the enemy, before the whole line could advance. The area was saturated with enemy gas, and machine-gun nests abounded. Orders had been frequently changed, and it was only possible to issue final orders to the Brigade at 2 p.m. at Belle Vue Farm. Company commanders then had to crawl considerable distances to attend a hastily summoned conference. This left little time to get the orders down to platoon commanders, and objectives could not be pointed out in daylight. But the Fusiliers went over the top as though on parade and took all objectives. The laurels gained here are worthy of a place beside those won at Minden.

At the scheduled time, 8.40 a.m., the New Zealanders passed through the 125th Brigade, and continued the advance beyond the line of the Harpies, two companies of the 42nd M.G. Battalion going with them. This was the second flying start given them by the Division.

Prisoners taken by the 42nd Division during the operations of October 20-23 numbered 927, and the booty included three field-guns, 102 machine-guns, nine trench-mortars, and twenty-two anti-tank rifles. A number of enemy batteries were put out of action by our artillery. Five hundred and fifteen enemy dead were counted on the battlefield—men of the shattered and demoralized 25th German Division, and to a lesser extent of the 18th Division. The 42nd, which had lost 138 killed and 707 wounded, withdrew west of the Selle, and on October 24 concentrated in Beauvois, a pleasant little town, only slightly damaged by the war, where really good billets were enjoyed for the first time since March. The inhabitants of Beauvois and Caudry had been in German hands for four years, and their delight at having Englishmen as guests, instead of Germans as tyrants, was displayed in a manner rather disconcerting to many lads, who found it embarrassing to be kissed and fussed over, and to be called “deliverers” and “saviours.” However, they appreciated the many evidences of kindliness and goodwill, and helped in their own way to cement the friendship and understanding between the nations; and they were truly glad to be once more in an inhabited country. Everything possible was done to make the men happy and comfortable. The canteens were well supplied; massed bands gave enjoyable concerts; and the Divisional Concert Party gave daily performances of Sweet Fanny Adams and April Fools in a factory that had been converted into a theatre. The enemy had been pressed so hard that they had left, almost intact, an excellent bathing establishment where hot baths could be obtained. The Divisional Reception Camp was moved up to Aulicourt Farm, and, while training was by no means neglected, plenty of opportunity was given for recreation. The Divisional Boxing Tournament was won by the 8th L.F., as was also the Band Contest. Most popular of all was the Football Competition, in the final of which the 7th N.F. (Pioneers) beat the R.A.M.C. by two goals to nil. Ten pleasant days were spent at Beauvois, and on the night of November 3 the Division began its move forward to relieve the N.Z. Division in the Forêt de Mormal.